Programs transmitted for use with audio-video display devices (e.g. television programming) commonly include textual information embedded in the transmitting signal, known as “closed captioning.” Closed captions may be displayed along with video portions of the program to assist those unable or unwilling to make use of the audio portion. For example, closed captions may include a textual transcript of the audio portion of a television program for use by hearing-impaired viewers, viewers in noisy environments, and viewers learning a language.
The display of caption information is largely controlled by parties other than the viewer, such as the broadcaster or program originator. For example, closed captions for most programming are displayed on two or three lines of the display screen, appear on-screen in a predetermined size and for a predetermined duration, and cannot easily be re-displayed once they disappear from the screen.
Because the display parameters are often predetermined, closed captions are usually “one size fits all” and hence may be unsatisfactory for some viewers. Viewers with a slower reading pace, for example, may find that captions appear and disappear more rapidly than desired. In another example, viewers in distracting or “multitasking” environments may desire that captions appear on-screen for a longer duration to permit comprehension even with intermittent viewer attention. In a further example, viewers with poor eyesight may desire that captions appear in a larger text size.
In addition, the “one size fits all” scheme for closed captioning is often unsatisfactory for individual programs or portions of programs. For example, dialogue between characters often occurs in bursts, and when caption information is similarly presented in bursts users may have a difficult time comprehending the dialogue. For another example, users of scientific and educational programming may desire that certain portions of a program be slowed to permit comprehension of complex or critical passages of caption text.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method of customizing the presentation of caption information according to the desires of individual users. The desired system and method should permit users to determine display parameters such as size and presentation rate, and should permit display of caption text to be customized for particular portions of a program.